1 SUBMISSION: WORKFORCE AUSTRALIA EMPLOYMENT SERVICES INQUIRY March 2023 The Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) is the national peak body for people from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds and the organisations and individuals who work with and support them. RCOA promotes the adoption of humane, lawful and constructive policies by governments and communities in Australia and internationally towards refugees, people seeking asylum and humanitarian entrants. RCOA consults regularly with its members, community leaders and people from refugee backgrounds, and this submission is informed by their views. Since the Council began its work in 1981, we have consistently seen and documented how refugees who come to Australia and seek protection or who are resettled, are strongly motivated to rebuild their lives in this country. They wish to work, to contribute to their local communities, to start their own businesses and to ensure their children prosper. The assumption from the Australian Government should be that refugee and humanitarian entrants, like other Australians, want to work in ways that draw on their skills, experience and aspirations . Employment services should also be built on this assumption, helping to remove barriers that prevent full economic participation. As such, RCOA welcomes this opportunity to provide feedback to the Select Committee on Workforce Australia Employment Services on its first-principles review. This submission briefly outlines the experiences of people from refugee backgrounds integrating into the Australian labour market and their experiences of Federally funded employment services in supporting this transition. Our recommendations then focus on key principles that should underpin an employment service system that benefits jobseekers from all backgrounds, including refugees and people seeking asylum: (1) Recognition that diverse experiences require diverse strategies; (2) Access and equity principles embedded in service design and delivery; (3) Funding models that incentivise collaborative, flexible, and person-centred approaches; (4); Targeted investment in specialist refugee employment services; and (5) Eligibility to employment services inclusive of people seeking asylum. We welcome an opportunity to discuss our recommendations further. 1. Employment services and refugee and humanitarian entrants 1.1. Refugee and humanitarian entrants in Australia Successive Australian Governments have made a commitment to providing a lasting home to people fleeing conflict, violence and persecution through the Humanitarian Program, with an average annual intake of 14,000 refugee and humanitarian entrants since 1977-78. 1 In 2022-23, the Program is planned to grant permanent visas to 17,875 refugees. The Albanese Government aspires to increase the size of the Humanitarian Program to 27,000 places a year, with an additional 5,000 places for community sponsored refugees. 2 While the objective of the Refugee and Humanitarian Program is to provide safety and a long-term solution to people in need of international protection, research has also shown the significant contribution that refugee and humanitarian entrants make to Australia’s economy and society, including in the areas of jobs and skills. 3 1 RCOA. How many refugees have come to Australia? 2 ALP National Platform 2021. https://alp.org.au/media/2594/2021-alp-national-platform-final-endorsed-platform.pdf 3 Hugo (2011). A Significant Contribution: The Economic, Social and Civic Contributions of First and Second Generation Humanitarian Entrants; Deloite Access Economics (2019). Economic and social impact of increasing Australia's humanitarian intake
SUBMISSION: WORKFORCE AUSTRALIA EMPLOYMENT SERVICES INQUIRY
Jul 11, 2023
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